Holistic Wellness ~ The Body (Part 1)

This article will begin a series on wellness. We've covered lots of areas directed towards a particular illness, but what about those of us who don't want to get sick in the first place? This is for you! The first article will look at the body, the second at the mind, and the third at the spirit. Between the areas we are covering, the body has to be the easiest, right? All we have to do to keep our bodies healthy is eat right and exercise, isn't that so?

Well, it may be a little more complicated than that. As I sat down to think about this article, I thought, "Okay, I'll cover diet, nutrition, exercise, etc. Easy enough." Once I started writing, however, I realized that if the mind, emotions, and spirit aren't healthy, then our body is going to remain in a state of ill health. Stress, after all has the ability to debilitate us, as well as depression. So remember as you're reading this that it is only a piece of the puzzle.

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Our nutrition is the foundation of our health. Even before history records were kept, the hunter-gatherer's sole purpose was to find nourishment for the family. Before modern medicine, the earth provided edible plants that could cure illnesses. As early as the 18th century, sailors knew the importance of citrus to prevent scurvy because of the vitamin C found in limes, lemons and oranges. The 19th century brought us the study of naturopathic therapies, and as the 20th century rolled around, we began to understand exactly what our bodies needed in the way of vitamins and minerals in order to sustain a healthy life.

VITAMINS

Vitamins (essential organic nutrients) help to regulate the chemical processes that take place within our body. They help release the energy in food, maintain strong bones and control our hormonal activity. Even though our foods contain a certain amount of different vitamins in them, sometimes there is a need to supplement specific vitamins that we are missing in our daily diet. We can do this by adding and/or deleting a combination of foods or by taking a vitamin tablet each day.

MINERALS

Minerals are inorganic chemicals that help maintain our biochemical and physiological processes within the body. There are two different types of minerals:

Minerals ~ body requires more than 100mg/day

Trace Elements ~ body requires less than 100mg/day

The amounts of minerals in our foods are determined by geological conditions, quality of soil and where and how the foods are grown. The debate over whether organically grown fruits and vegetables are better for us or worse for us still goes on today. Dr. C. Norman Shealy says that sub-clinical deficiencies (not extensive enough to be life threatening) in our foods may be the cause of certain forms of cancer, heart disease, weight and skin problems, and a host of other health conditions.

The copyright of the article Holistic Wellness ~ The Body (Part 1) in Holistic Therapy is owned by T. Darlene Cheek. Permission to republish Holistic Wellness ~ The Body (Part 1) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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